


Professionals

by Archangel_Beth



Category: GetBackers
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-01
Updated: 2013-08-01
Packaged: 2017-12-22 01:55:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,155
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/907504
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Archangel_Beth/pseuds/Archangel_Beth
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hevn-san knows how to make a bargain, even when it <i>seems</i> she's got nothing on hand Doctor Jackal really wants.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Professionals

They ambushed her at her house. Not right outside the Honky Tonk (where she'd finished a very frustrating talk with that annoying pair of GetBackers), no, they weren't that considerate. They had to wait till she was not _only_ away from people who might have rescued her (Ginji was such a soft-hearted puppy), but after she's fought her way through traffic made worse by at least two accidents.

And not even right as she parked her car and got out -- no, they waited until she was _right_ at her door and thinking about how she was going to have a hot bath when she got in. And they didn't even have the grace to pull a gun on her and let her walk on her own two feet. Not a shred of "Hevn-san, please come with us." No, they used some kind of nasty smelling drug on a square of cloth.

As she woke up, the mattress beneath her feeling as if it were swaying side to side and jackhammers rhythmically pounding in her ears and brain, she remembered all that and thought that Lady Poison would have been offended.

"Ah," came a quiet, fey voice. "You are awake, Hevn-san."

Well, at least there was the politeness. She made herself smile, pushing back thick, long, blonde hair. "Doctor Jackal, I presume?" (Not that he meant the "san," not like he meant "kun" when he spoke to Ginji or Ban or anyone who could give him a good fight. But he was polite.)

The dark figure sitting in the chair, opposite where she lay, smiled at her and adjusted his hat. She rather thought he liked the slit in it; he hadn't gotten a new one, after all. "I have been hired to transport you, Hevn-san," he informed her, mostly unnecessarily.

Undoubtedly this was the fault of Ban, or possibly Ginji, then -- their enemies were going to kidnap her (had kidnapped her), use her as bait for them, and then Akabane would get to have another duel with one or both of them. "I'm glad to know I'm being transported by a professional, Akabane-san," she said. And, really, it was better than being in the company of a bunch of those thugs she'd briefly glimpsed, passing out in front of her house.

She looked around, deciding that the swaying and noise were because she was on a private train car, and not entirely the residuals of the drug. It was not in the best of condition, long past whatever glory days it had had, with thread-bare curtains covering the windows and the only light provided by a couple of dim, fringe-shaded lamps bolted to tables. "I know you're not likely to tell me anything important, Akabane-san, but to pass the time perhaps we could play a game? I make a guess, and you tell me if I'm right?"

He tipped his hat back far enough to expose a little smile and happy eyes. "An interesting game, Hevn-san."

She got herself sitting and smoothed out her skirt. Her shoes were on the mattress next to her, and she put them back on. "You're being paid, primarily, in a chance to keep me from being ... gotten back? After all, you can easily keep me from escaping."

That tiny little chuckle. "You are clever, Hevn-san."

"And... they haven't employed Akabane-san to guard me after I'm delivered?" Because anyone knowing of the "feud" between the GetBackers and Dr. Jackal -- and cheap enough to hire mere thugs -- wouldn't want to pay him for more. She hoped. They'd assume that he'd hang around for his fight.

A tiny little smile, almost impossible to see, and this time the eyes were thoughtfully regarding her. "I did not think you were there when I was hired, Hevn-san."

She smiled back, knowing that her own eyes would be glowing golden in the dimness. So long as she remained a non-combatant, she was probably safe. "And they employed you to get me there alive and unharmed?"

He lowered his eyes this time, and shook his head gently. "They told me that so long as you were alive, Hevn-san, I could do what I liked to you."

That would have been chilling, she decided as she blinked, if you didn't know that Doctor Jackal was a _selective_ psychopath. It would have been more dangerous for her to be unconscious in the midst of a kindergarten; they'd have had permanent markers. Akabane wouldn't bother to torture an unconscious non-combatant. There was no test in it.

"Well, two out of three isn't bad. I assume they _have_ someone to guard me after I'm delivered?"

"It would seem so, Hevn-san." He didn't bother to make any comment whether or not he approved of her future guards.

Still, after she'd gotten through pounding her head against the ladies' room wall, after that Makubex debacle, she'd made note of a very important fact about this particular professional. "I'd like to hire you to transport me back to the Honky Tonk, Doctor Jackal."

Faint surprise flickered in that gray eye she could see. Or perhaps it was only the shadows of lamp-fringe. "Now, Hevn-san? I regret, I have a contract."

She made a dismissive gesture with her hand. "Oh, of course not now, Akabane-san. After you've delivered me."

He adjusted his hat thoughtfully. He did that, when he was thinking. A much more polite habit than fiddling with his scalpels. "They have promised me that Ginji-kun and Ban-kun will come for you, Hevn-san."

"But," she said, leaning forward a little even though _that_ form of influence wasn't likely to work on him, "they haven't hired you to protect me from being gotten back. They might even insist that their own people should attack the pair first, and then they'll be a little tired by the time you get a chance. They're not being very professional, Akabane-san."

"Mmm," he said, a neutral remark. The hat had gotten tipped and slanted so she couldn't see his eyes. Maybe he _was_ watching her cleavage.

She chose to interpret it as a _keep talking_. "Now, if they've got people to guard me, and you're supposed to deliver me... Well, undoubtedly they won't understand that you _are_ a professional, Akabane-san. They'll try to stop you from transporting me away again."

"Mmmm." All right, _that_ sounded slightly interested, if her negotiator's instincts didn't fail her.

She added, feeling a little bit sorry for Ginji at least, "And if we happen to run across the GetBackers, there's always a chance they'll assume you're still on your _prior_ job..."

As hoped, the offer of a possible bonus produced that polite little almost-smile again. "You are a professional, Hevn-san."

She smiled back. "Thank you, Akabane-san. I know I've hired the best."

That got the full polite smile, as amused as Akabane ever got outside of an actual duel.

And, with a promise of mayhem and blood, the train-car trundled through the night.


End file.
